84 Hom. Act. BAPTISM. ening to the baptistry." Gregory relates, that during an incursion of the Goths into Cappadocia, an unbaptized youth was mortally wounded; and, when dying, he dreaded not death so much, as he lamented to die unbaptized. He cried aloud for baptism, which, as he was shut out from the town, nobody could administer to him. His despair surely proceeded from the erroneous belief, that, without the external ceremony of baptism, no one could obtain salvation. Chrysostom thus mentions the various circumstances under which men received baptism : "The catechumens, though occupied in prepaAp. XXIII. ring themselves for baptism, have no zeal for a godly life; neither have they, who are already baptized-some because they received it in sickness, and upon being restored to health, have no longer any desire to live according to the will of God; and even those, who received it in health, discover little of this desire, although for the moment they were fervently disposed, their ardour hath since become extinguished." This representation would appear to favor the baptism of grown-up persons; but in this number must be included not only those, who received baptism from a determination to walk in the paths of righteousness, and in whose lives it formed a new era; but those also, who, relying upon certain supposed magical effects of the sacred rite, by which they hoped to be purified at some period before death, gave themselves up to the service of sin, and at last, when the hour of sickness came, received baptism without due preparation, as a mere opus operatum. On the other hand, the general use of infant baptism would have tended to supplant idolatry, and MONACHISM. spread Christianity more rapidly in the families of the heathen. The beneficial effect produced by baptism in riper years, regarded as the commencement of a new life, freely and conscientiously devoted to God,-might equally be obtained by a first participation in the holy communion, that solemn and voluntary entrance into the Christian congregation. This happy result could not, however, have been experienced in the ancient church, where an infant communion was administered, and where the two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, were not sufficiently removed from each other in point of time. They did not perceive, that baptism imparts to us that spiritual grace, which should imperceptibly commence with the first dawn of consciousness, and tranquilly and gradually ripen within the bosom of the Christian church; while the holy communion presupposes that more perfectly matured state of the understanding, which seeks and wins for itself heavenly grace by a voluntary act. II. ON MONACHISM. Vid. p. 29. It was by no means intended, that the monks should lead a life of listless contemplation; on the contrary, manual labor was enjoined them as a duty by their rational adherents,-by Chrysostom, as well as by Augustine; although many fanatical mystics, and advocates of an inactive life, rejected under the cloak of sanctity all connection of a laborious with a contemplative life. Chrysostom had probably beheld in his native country many such advocates of idleness among the Euchites and Messalians, and he reproves them in his explanation of the follow 86 Hom. in John MONACHISM. John VI.27. ing passage: "Labour not for the meat which perisheth," which they perverted to suit their inclinations: "But since persons, who desire to be maintained in idleness, pervert the sense of this passage, as if Christ had forbidden manual labor, it is time that they be admonished; for they bring Christianity into evil report, and cause it to be derided, as the source of idleness. Let us first hear Paul, who saith: Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give, than to receive.' But how can he give, who possesseth nought? What then said Jesus to Martha : Acts XX. 35. Luke X. 41, 42. Matt. VI. 34. Thou art careful and troubled about many things but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part.' And again: 'Take no thought for the morrow.' We must now explain all these passages, not only to rouse the indolent, but also, that we may not by our teaching, introduce inconsistency into the word of God. For Paul also saith in Thess. IV. another place : We beseech you, that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without.' Ephes. IV. And again: Let him that stole, steal no more: 10, 11. 28. but rather let him labour, working with his hands MONACHISM. ary objects of our labor; for we may labor, and treasure up nothing for the morrow; and we may labor, and yet not be careful; for labor is not the same thing as care. A man may labor, not to support himself, but to impart aid to him that needeth. The words spoken by our Lord to Martha were not directed against labor; but they teach us the importance of discerning the right moment, and of not wasting upon earthly concerns the time appointed for hearing the divine word. Christ therefore said not these things to render us indolent, but to fix our attention upon his words. I am come, he saith, to teach you things of which ye have need; but thou busiest thyself about the repast. If thou would receive me well, and make ready a costly meal; prepare for me another repast. Listen attentively to my discourse, and imitate the earnest desire of thy sister." 87 Basil. Re gula, sive c. 37. 28. In the greater monastic regulations ascribed to Basil, it is written: "Since our Lord Christ saith not generally, that, every man; but that, the workman is worthy of his meat: and since the apostle directeth us to work Ephes. IV. with our own hands, in order that we may give to him, who hath need; it followeth that to work honestly is a manifest duty. For we should neither make use of religion as a pretext for idleness, nor as a means to escape labor; but as a motive for exertion, and for greater labor, and for patience under sufferings, that we also may be able to say with the apostle : In weariness and painfulness, in watchings I Cor. XI. often, in hunger and thirst.' This rule of life 27. is not only profitable to keep the body in subjection; but also to promote love towards our neighbour, so that through us God may relieve the wants of our suffering brethren." In like 88 Hom. in Matt. VIII. Institut. Lib. X. c. MONACHISM. manner Chrysostom describes the monks of the Egyptian deserts: "After having renounced all earthly possessions, and being crucified entirely unto the world, they proceed still further, and devote the labour of their bodies to the support of the needy. Neither because they fast and watch do they hold it right to be idle in the day; but imitating the zeal of the apostles, they pass the night in sacred hymns and vigils; the day in prayer and the work of their hands. Let us all, therefore, both poor and rich, be ashamed, when they, who have nothing but their hands, bind themselves to provide subsistence for the destitute." Cassian relates that not only the monasteries of Egypt, but that the districts of Lybia, when suffering from famine, and also the unfortunate men, who languished in the prisons of cities, were supported by the De Moribus labor of the monks. Augustine relates, that the Eccles. Ca- monks in Syria and Egypt were enabled by their labor and savings to send ships laden with provisions to distressed districts. The monks of the East were remarkable for their hospitality, although their cells and cloisters were infinitely poorer than those of their more recent brethren of the West. The most rigid monks, who lived only upon salt and bread, placed before their guests other food, and at times consented to lay aside their accustomed severity, in order to persuade them to partake of the refreshments, which were set before them. A monk, Thalasius, who resided near a village in the province of Cyrrhestica, on the Euphrates, collected thol. Lib. I. c. 31. Theodor. Relig. Hist. c. XXII. 1 "Nullo modo namque satagunt, ut hæc sibi abundent, sed omni modo agunt, ut non apud se remaneat quod abundaverit, usque adeo ut oneratas etiam naves in ea loca mittant, quæ inopes incolunt." Augustin de Moribus Ecclesiæ Catholicæ. Lib. I. Cap. xxxi. |